City Council

The City of Columbia is a charter city with a Council-Manager form of government. Under the Council-Manager form of government, the Mayor and City Council establishes policy and law, and the City Manager handles the day-to-day management of the City organization.

The City Council consists of seven (7) members, each of whom shall be elected for staggered terms of three (3) years. One of the seven (7) council members shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city at large and shall be the mayor. The other six (6) council members shall be elected to represent each of the six wards. Council members must be qualified and registered voters of the city. The six (6) council members elected by wards shall be residents and qualified voters of the respective wards from which they are elected. Council members shall hold no other lucrative public office or position in city government during their terms as council members.

City Council Meetings are generally held on the first and third Mondays of the
month at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber, located in City Hall, 701
E. Broadway. You can view the dates of those meetings and other city government events on the City Calendar.

The City Council relies on the voluntary service of the citizens of Columbia to serve on its Boards and Commissions. Each board, commission, committee and task force has specific pre-requisites for membership and openings for these volunteer groups are generally advertised on the fourth Sunday of the month in both the Columbia Daily Tribune and the Columbia Missourian, and online.